Virtual Talmud

A New Year for Religious Extremism?

The vast majority of American Jews would take no offense were I to take this opportunity to wish them a “Happy New Year. ” Although the new Jewish year of 5767 began several months ago with Rosh Hashanah, the Gregorian calendar used throughout the Western world is ours as well. As Americans, the rhythms of this calendar affect our lives–often more so than the Jewish calendar–and we can certainly join in recognizing the passing of an old year and hope for more peace, compassion, and love in 2007 than we witnessed in the year that has just passed.

Then there are those segments of the Jewish world that seek to lock out any acknowledgment of the secular world, to insulate themselves from any influences of the modern world–and their campaign is on the rise. Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, Jews make up only 10 percent of Israel’s Jewish population, and yet in recent years they have been gaining in political strength and been increasingly vocal about and effective at forcing their religious and cultural norms on the rest of the Israeli population.

Usually, we associate these types of threats and attempts to force specific religious norms onto others with the Taliban in Afghanistan or modesty patrols in Iran, but not with Jews. So the rise of Jewish religious extremists–and the violence that has been accompanying it–is a disturbing new trend.

This attempt to shut out the modern world–by force if necessary–is the type of close-minded rejectionism that would refuse to acknowledge that much of the world has welcomed in a new year. But then again, for religious extremists everywhere, there is little use for anything new, and the hope and freedom it might bring.

Like I said before,on other comments,it is very well to condemn Jewish extremes,but you never condemn the other extremists of other regligions.Put your money where your mouth is,and start being fair to Jewish Orthodoxy.I imagine you do not understand why religious people become extreme,and the pressures they face of extinction,so you just say,”Gee,the Jews are the only ones who cannot act like imperfect,real,mortal individuals,and they’re always supposed to act perfect all the time.” Answer that,why do you not condemn the other extremeists,only Jews???lhmmm???

By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.

Previous Posts

The Task Is Never FinishedIt has been heartwarming to read the warm responses to Rabbi Waxman's post asking Beliefnet to reconsider its decision to cancel Virtual Talmud. Virtual Talmud offered an alternative model for internet communications: civil discourse pursued in postings over a time frame of days (rather than moments

Some Parting ReflectionsWell, loyal readers, all good things must come to an end and we’ve been informed that this particular experiment in blogging as a forum for creating wide-ranging discussion on topics of interest to contemporary Jews has run its course. Maybe it’s that blogging doesn’t lend itself so well to t

Obama's Lesson and The Jewish CommunityThere are few times in this blog’s history when I have felt that Rabbi Grossman was one hundred percent correct in her criticisms of my ideas. However, a few weeks ago she called me out for citing a few crack websites on Barak Obama’s advisors. She was right. I never should have cited those web

The Future of Race RelationsAs a post-baby boomer, it is interesting to me to see how much of today’s conversation about racial relations is still rooted in the 1960s experience and rhetoric of the civil rights struggle, and the disenchantment that followed. Many in the black and Jewish communities look to this period either

Wright and Wrong of Race and JewsYears ago, as a rabbinical student, I was one of a group of rabbinical students who visited an African American seminary in Atlanta. My fellow rabbinical students and I expected an uplifting weekend of interfaith sharing like we had experienced in visits to other (largely white) seminaries. We were